Allies of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua insist the MPs coalescing around Kindiki are committing political suicide.
Analysts say the new political realignment in Mount Kenya shows President William Ruto has changed his reelection plan and Gachagua is no longer part of the equation.
So, who will prevail in Mount Kenya?
“Who or what can he (Gachagua) neutralise?” Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi, Gachagua's successor, said.
Wamumbi is among leaders from Nyeri who are opposed to Gachagua's brand of leadership.
Others are Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga, John Kaguchia (Mukurweini) and Duncan Mathenge (Nyeri Town).
Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku said Gachagua has a long way to go, especially in the face of the stance taken by Mt Kenya East.
“We have decided to chart our independent political path going forward,” the MP said.
Molo politician Pius Mbugua told the Star the camps won’t matter as Ruto still enjoys the region’s support.
“We support the President. We will support him to the end,” the politician said, dismissing the factional groupings.
Gachagua, a valiant politician, has shown he is no pushover. His allies say those rebelling against his cause will suffer the wrath of voters come 2027.
Former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, who lost his seat after sticking by President Uhuru Kenyatta, said the rebels may suffer the same fate.
He said the outcome would be reminiscent of the Kieleweke days when it was clear “which MPs will go home".
Edward Muriu (Gatanga MP) and Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu are the latest to openly declare their support for the DP.
They join Gachagua’s key lieutenants, Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, Embakasi North’s James Gakuya, and Benjamin Gathiru of Embakasi Central.
The DP also has the support Kigumo MP Joseph Munyoro and Kirinyaga Women Rep Njeri Maina.
"People don't follow leaders. It is leaders who follow people. Uhuru tried forming the biggest coalition and the people defied Uhuru," Muriu said.
The MP said Central is not like other regions and would stick to leaders who are addressing the issues that affect the people.
"I am not God but what they [Gachagua rebels] are doing is to impress someone else, not the people who elected them. The people are with Gachagua," Muriu said.
Former Laikipia Woman Rep Cate Waruguru said Ruto is double-dealing Kindiki and Gachagua.
"These MPs making noise know well that Gachagua is popular in Mt Kenya," she said.
Former Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi said it is observable that the political tide is changing in favour of the Deputy President.
“He has come out as a man. I am in Azimio and we feel he is gaining ground although we are not sure how the future would pan out,” the ex-MP said.
Nduati said like was their case when they stuck by Uhuru when the region felt otherwise, those fighting Gachagua may be swept away.
“They can be swept out if the wave changes. Most of us who were swept away in 2022 had worked very hard. He (the DP) is quite popular on the ground and may just sway the vote his way,” the former lawmaker said.
There is a school of thought that the DP, by playing the victim of a state clampdown, has successfully neutralised his adversaries.
Central to the assertions is that Gachagua being able to galvanise the region would be a double-edged sword for President Ruto in 2027.
Javas Bigambo, however, holds that Ruto’s game plan may not be on winning the vote but splitting it.
“The profound thing about the Kindiki-Rigathi axis is that it is poised to create fissures within the larger Gema nation, a strategy to demystify the giant vote bloc,” the political analyst said.
Bigambo, a governance specialist, added, “The Embu and Meru are likely to start seeing themselves differently, and not merely as a minority part of the whole Mount Kenya nation.”
Prof Gitile Naituli, a political commentator and former NCIC commissioner, said there is no battle to talk about.
“The public is fed up with the people they elected but they may go back to Gachagua for sympathy because the people who are fighting the DP have not solved their problems,” he said.
For Naituli, Kindiki is by his position as Interior CS the most senior politician in Mt Kenya East whom the region can run to in case of any demands.
“He is being misled. After all, kingpins emerge. He was on the right trajectory but these endorsements may just work against that progress,” the don said.
He said it would have been best to let the CS deliver the projects, a situation he holds would automatically earn him the endorsement.
“If they were clever, they would have identified projects, then bring Kindiki to launch them or deliver them so that the people can see he is delivering,” he said.
For the pundit, setting up Kindiki against Gachagua would be counterproductive as it may metamorphose into a rebellion against the East by the West.
